ASCOTT is scheduled to launch 57 properties in Asia, Europe and the Gulf region over the next few years, with an aim to reach 40,000 apartment units worldwide by 2015.

The company will open new properties in the key gateway cities of China, Germany, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.

This year, Ascott has added 22 properties with more than 3,700 apartment units to its portfolio, entering into cities such as Hefei, Nanjing and Wuxi in China, Gurgaon in India, Riyadh and Jeddah in Saudi Arabia, and Sri Racha in Thailand.

Ascott has recently crossed the 10,000-apartment-unit milestone in China to become the country’s largest international serviced residence owner-operator with 56 properties across 20 cities. The company is targeting 12,000 apartment units in China by 2015.

Besides ongoing refurbishment for its properties in Asia-Pacific and Europe, Ascott has begun offering free Internet access this year. It has also introduced new web and mobile booking features to facilitate bookings for its properties, enabling customers to perform a multi-city, multi-property or multi-apartment booking within a single reservation process.